I learned from a friend in my local Catholic homeschooling group that we'll be having a total lunar exclipse tonight for the last time until December 2010. I think there is a chance of showers and overcast skies, but I'm praying we'll be able to get a glimse of it.
You can find more information about the eclipse here, but I picked up a couple paragraphs that contained basic information. Unfortunately I haven't purchased my Farmer's Almanac for 2008, so I wasn't prepared in advance for this information.
Partial eclipse begins at 8:43 p.m., when the Moon begins entering Earth's shadow, and totality, the point at which the Moon is completely within Earth's shadow, begins at 10:01 p.m., and lasts until 10:51 p.m. The eclipse ends about midnight.
During totality, no direct sunlight shines on the Moon, but Earth's atmosphere reflects some sunlight onto it. The result is that the Moon gets very dim, but never dark enough to be invisible.
The color of the Moon during an eclipse varies from year to year, and depends mostly on how much dust is in the atmosphere around the world. Large amounts of dust from volcanic eruptions or forest fires can cause the Moon to be a distinct reddish color. More common is a dull orange color.
For more detailed information about the eclipse and basic diagrams, check out NASA's Eclipse Homepage. That's where I got the picture.
Yeah - we watched it tonight! It was cloudy at first, but then it cleared up and we saw it coming out of the total eclipse - very cool!
Posted by: MamaJen | February 20, 2008 at 11:30 PM
Hey thanks for this diagram! We got to see the eclipse last night a bit through the clouds - my oldest was very excited!
Kelly
Posted by: Kelly | February 21, 2008 at 08:19 AM